A county named Qingjiang was first set up in the area in 938 CE during the Nan

-ch’ang. Ch’ing-chiang

(Southern) Tang dynasty in the Ten Kingdoms (Shiguo) period. The county seat remained there for centuries, moving to Zhangshuzhen, the present city site, only in 1950. The county was dissolved in 1988 to set up a county-level city, which was renamed Zhangshu.

Present-day Zhangshu is situated on the rail route from

Nan-ch’ang to Ch’ang-sha

Hangzhou in Zhejiang province to Zhuzhou in Hunan province

, where the line to the west leaves the road and river route up the Kan River valley. Goods from southern Kiangsi are transshipped at Ch’ing-chiang from junks and road to these rail lines

. Expressways north to Nanchang and south to Guangdong province also pass through the city area. Industries producing pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery, and wine have been developed locally. The surrounding area produces much timber and grain, and tungsten is